Missouri is the Show-me state, and they’re showing us the mud. After four terms in the Senate, Republican Kit Bond announced his retirement, and in an open seat in a bellwether state, punches were sure to fly, particularly when some heavyweights made it through to the general election.

The Democrats nominated Robin Carnahan, a descendant of royal Democratic blood in the state. Her father, Mel, served in the state house, as state treasurer, lieutenant governor, and finally governor, before taking on John Ashcroft for the U.S. Senate in 2000 in what was a heated and close campaign. Three weeks before the election, Carnahan died in a plane crash; his name couldn’t be removed from the ballot, but his wife, Jean, indicated that she would accept an appointment if Mel won. And, he did, so Robin’s mother served in the Senate until 2002, when she lost the seat to Republican Jim Talent. Robin herself was elected Missouri’s secretary of state in 2004.

Roy Blunt, the Republican nominee, was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, and he has served in powerful leadership positions, first as majority whip when the Republicans were in charge and then as minority whip after they lost their majority in 2006.

Despite Missouri’s history of close elections, this one appears to be in the bag for Blunt. In July, Carnahan trailed by only a few points in the polls, but now Blunt has a consistent substantial lead, and Nate Silver of the New York Times rates his chances of winning at greater than 95%, though the Daily Beast election oracle only gives Blunt a 70% chance of winning.

That hasn’t kept the candidates from trashing one another. In this spot, from the Blunt campaign, attacks Carnahan for…well…attacking Blunt. Titled “Wrong Way Robin,” all the view knows is that Carnahan has been lying about Blunt’s record. And, why is she lying, according to the ad? Because she’s “wrong on every issue”; the ad ends with a quick succession of her support for the stimulus, energy reform, and health care, and it shows her embracing Barack Obama.

Carnahan has fought back by attacking Blunt for his earmarks, labeling him a “prodigious pork-meister” and the “very worst of Washington.” The ad criticizes projects such as a teapot museum in North Carolina, a swimming pool in California, and potato research in Idaho as among Blunt’s transgressions. The Kansas City Star rated the ad relatively accurate (four out of five stars).

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Through election day on November 2, I’ll present some of the ads from the campaign trail to give our readers some insight into what their fellow Americans are seeing around the country. If you have a video suggestion, please message me via Twitter.